"SQU" 2003 Obituary

SQUANCE o@ca.on.simcoe_county.nottawasaga.collingwood.the_connection 2003-10-24 published
Highway crash claims two lives
Two Thornbury-area men are dead and four others seriously injured,
after a two vehicle collision occurred this past stormy Monday
night.
The Collingwood Blue Mountains Ontario Provincial Police said
shortly before 9 p.m., they believe a 1977 Chevrolet Nova crossed
the centre line of Highway 26 west of Craigleith, before colliding
head-on with a 1999 Dodge Caravan.
The driver of the Nova 33-year-old Trevor
SQUANCE of Thornbury,
and his passenger, James
SIMONEK, 42, also of Thornbury, died
at the scene.
TheCaravan's driver, 39-year-old Colleen
MORRISON of the Town
of the Blue Mountains, and passengers Allan Paul
INGLESON, 50,
Evan GOSTICK, 15, and Travis
GOSTICK, were taken from the scene
to the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital by ambulance.
Evan GOSTICK was later transferred to St. Michael's Hospital
in Toronto, while Travis, 13, was taken to The Hospital for Sick
Children, also in Toronto.
The Ontario Provincial Police said that part of the wreckage
from the crash landed in a nearby ditch, cutting a natural gas
line.
The residents of a nearby home were evacuated for a short time,
as a precaution, until a gas company crew capped the severed
line.
The Town of the Blue Mountains Fire Department responded to assist
with the removal of the victims and stood by, while the gas leak
was capped.
Autopsies on both
SQUANCE and
SIMONEK were scheduled for Tuesday
afternoon. Results have not yet been made public.
Police say crash scene investigators are trying to determine
if speed or alcohol were contributing factors in the collision.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or who has information
about the collision, is asked to call the Collingwood-Blue Mountains
Ontario Provincial Police detachment at 445-4321.
- Staff, Page 1

SQUIRES o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-02-26 published
Sheilagh Ann
McGRATH
By Sean McGRATHWednesday,February 26, 2003 - Page A20
Twin, student of education, artist. Born December 12, 1966, in
Saint John's, Newfoundland Died December 14, 2002, in Ottawa, of
a brain tumour, aged 36.
Sheilagh McGRATH was best known for her kindness, yet she possessed
a hidden heroism, which surfaced in her astonishing courage and
good cheer in the face of progressively debilitating, fatal illness.
She was the quiet one in a family of six talented, attention-demanding
children -- my twin sister.
At the age of 16, Sheilagh was diagnosed at the Montreal Neurological
Institute with an inoperable brain tumour. She had been suffering
from severe headaches for some time. She was plucked from the
torrent of adolescence and subjected to radiation therapy. She
lost her hair -- a profound trauma for her -- and missed the
better part of the school year.
Sheilagh's soft-spoken demeanor concealed a fiercely strong will.
She was determined to conquer her disease. She returned to high-school
and enjoyed four relatively healthy years, graduating and going
on to study Early Childhood Education.
In 1986 our father, James
McGRATH, was appointed Lieutenant-Governor
of Newfoundland. Sheilagh returned to Saint John's and continued
her studies at Memorial University. A relapse of tumour-related
problems led to a coma and near-death. She recovered, but her
weakened short-term memory forced her to drop out of university.
She clung to the dream of going back. The term would invariably
begin without her, but undaunted, she would plan the next.
Her strength of will manifested itself in less subtle ways. In
1987, the Earl of Wessex, then a young Prince Edward of the House
of Windsor, was our guest at Government House in Saint John's.
When the prince requested a quiet night, the staff was instructed
not to disturb him. My parents went out. In her early 20s, with
eligible royalty in the house, Sheilagh had other ideas. She
put on her best dress and joined the prince and his entourage
in one of the State Rooms.
In 1989, her disease progressed rapidly, leaving her wheelchair-bound.
She took a keen interest in painting. The Newfoundland artist
Gerald SQUIRES gave her private lessons. The watercolours she
did under his tutelage are full of light and joy. They not only
express her spirit, but also reflect the special bond that developed
between her and
SQUIRES.
Sheilagh endured multiple surgeries at the Montreal Neuro with
a disarming smile. In 1992 she was moved to the Elizabeth Bruyère
Heath Center in Ottawa. Out from under her parents' roof for
the first time, she thrived. She entertained visitors with Scrabble,
chess, or a stroll through the Byward Market. A one-person cottage
industry in the arts and crafts room, she created her Christmas
presents by hand. She became a member of the Residents' Council
and a persistent advocate of the rights of patients. The elderly
Alzheimer's patients troubled her at first. She came to understand
that she was called to minister to them, to befriend them, listen
to them, or simply reach out and touch them.
In her last year, Sheilagh lost her power of movement, her speech,
and most of her vision. In his homily at her funeral in the basilica
in Ottawa, Father Norm
BONNEAU expressed the paradox of her extraordinary
transformation through suffering: "The more restricted in body,
the freer her spirit; the greater the setback, the greater her
courage; the greater the affliction, the gentler her kindness."
As her physical existence declined, her serenity increased. By
the end of her life she was an entirely other-centered person.
Her death, in the presence of her family, was a definitive "Yes"
to life. With gentleness, grace, and silent resolve, Sheilagh
McGRATH let the world go.
Sean McGRATH is Sheilagh's twin brother.